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mekachu0410. "You're safe, it was just a dream."
He doesn't know this boy.
He will know him, but this Killer, this child, Kidd has never met. A sobbing tiny child, his tears so deep they rock his whole little frame, and Kidd... he's never been one people turn to for comfort, he's never been the shoulder someone cries on. Even after Wano, the best he could do was turn his back and give Killer his space to grieve in private.
Maybe he should have done more. Pulled his partner in close, used his own body to shelter him from the world, if just for a few moments. It's too late now. That man is gone.
He doesn't know this part of the story though- if this is something Killer never told him, or something new - unique to this time around like so many other things. He looks at the other children in the cage as he lifts Killer free, faces a mix of brave, tear strewn, fearful. Killer looks to be the youngest, but only one of the children looks to be anywhere close to Kidd's age.
"How'd?... why are you all in a cage?" he asks the oldest child. She doesn't answer at first, picking up one of the other little ones, helping them past the now mangled bars. Kidd won't put Killer down, but -pulls- to make it easier for them to climb down without getting hurt.
"Most of us dun' have nobody anymore," the girl says finally. Kidd grinds his teeth, remembering the room of corpses.
The girl pauses, looking at Killer. Kidd finds himself growling a little, hunching over him.
She wets her lips. thoughtful. Careful of her words. "Some... some of us.. got sold." she says faintly, whispering the last word, nodding to Killer.
The metal sings in its place; Killer hiccups in his cries. "Who would -?!"
"Single parents with too many mouths." the child says bitterly, sounding too much like she's had time to turn it over in her head, "Get a few shiny coins for the ones too small to work and its win-win."
Kidd says nothing. Most of the kids take off the moment their bare feet touch the cobblestone ground. One is stuck, frozen, staring at the impaled marine.
"How many extra mouths can you feed?, the girl challenges, like that makes it okay. Like that justifies what happened.
Kidd just glares, before stepping away,
Brichtrede barely tolerates him most days, what's she gonna think if he shows up with another kid?
Well, its not like she's his mother or anything. Not really. She doesn't owe him anything, and if she has a problem, Kidd'll just leave. He and Killer scrapped a life out of this island once, he can do it again.
Once the broken corpse and cart are far behind them, Kidd finally stops in an alley, setting Killer down. He knows that face anywhere, not so far removed from the face in his memories, preserved unchanging in time by being hidden by metal and strips for so long.
This face is putty from crying, pinched in fear still.
Bruised.
Same with his wrist, his bicep, his shoulder. Kidd carefully pushes the boy's tattered shirt up with his right hand, the shoe print bruising as long as his torso. Kidd settles the shirt down, smoothing over the cloth, metal scrap left hand carefully tucked slightly behind him to seem less scary. Trying to make himself look small and harmless.
"Its okay now," Kidd tells him, thumb brushing over the tear streaks on baby fat cheeks, smoothing the sharp line away. "You're safe now. It was.... it was all just a bad dream.''
--
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